📘 Launch pricing · 91% off · 7-day guarantee
The Claim Field Manual

You Already Paid for This. Learn How Your VA Rating Gets Decided.

The plain-English field manual for veterans: how the VA sets a rating, why claims get denied, and how to prepare an increase, a secondary condition or a PACT Act claim yourself, with the 2026 rate table and the evidence each step needs, so you stop guessing and stop paying someone a cut of your back pay.

A veteran in his sixties at his kitchen table reading a VA decision letter next to a folder of papers
9
Field chapters
4
Bonuses
2026
VA rates
0%
Of your back pay
Consultant fee on a new 50%: 5× the monthly check$5,664here, $27 once
Get the Field Manual · $27 →
🔒 Instant access · ✓ 7-day guarantee
📄

SO CONFUSED. was service connection granted or not?

u/Sleep_master_410 · r/VeteransBenefits
🗂️

Sometimes it seems when dealing with the VA they are waiting for an answer but never asked a question.

u/Pretend_Arm_9166 · r/Veterans
Do the math

Every 10% Is Real Money. Most of It Comes Down to Paperwork.

These are the VA's own published 2026 rates for a veteran with no dependents. A rating that sits a step too low isn't a rounding error. It's a smaller deposit every single month, and what moves it is usually how the claim was put together.

$180.42
10% · per month
$1,132.90
50% · per month
$3,938.58
100% · per month
“Some who felt misled said they did most of the work themselves.”
NPR, on veterans who paid private claim companies · December 2025

Rates: VA.gov, Veterans disability compensation rates, effective December 1, 2025. Checked November 6, 2026.

Why now

The Clock Starts When You File. Not When You Get Around to It.

Your effective date is usually the day the VA receives your claim, or your Intent to File. Every month before that is a month the back pay can't reach back to. Five minutes on one form protects it while you get your evidence together.

📅 The 2027 VA rates take effect in
0days
00hours
00min
00sec

Rates go up every December with the cost of living. The rating they apply to is the part that's on you.

Get the Field Manual · $27 →
Why this works

Built for Veterans Who Want It Done Right

📄

It reads your letter with you

Decision letter, rating code sheet, C-file. You'll see what each part says, where the VA explains its reasons, and which missing piece kept the rating where it is.

📐

It shows how the VA measures

Ratings come from a published schedule, 38 CFR Part 4. The manual shows how to read the criteria for your condition, so you know what the rater is looking for before you file.

🗂️

It tells you what evidence to bring

Records, a personal statement, buddy statements and a medical opinion. What each one proves, and how to describe your worst days, honestly and completely.

🧾

Your back pay stays yours

No percentage, no contract, no one filing in your name. You prepare your claim yourself, or you walk into a free VSO already knowing what to ask.

Where it gets left on the table

Four Places Veterans Stop Short of Their Rating

None of this is a toughness problem. It's an evidence problem, and every one of these has a chapter of its own.

📈

It got worse

The increase
  • Rated years ago
  • Never re-checked
  • Rated on a good day
Chapter 4
🔗

One thing led to another

Secondary conditions
  • The knee that changed your walk
  • The hip that followed
  • Never claimed together
Chapter 5
🌫️

Where you served

The PACT Act
  • Burn pits
  • Agent Orange
  • Conditions the VA presumes
Chapter 6
💵

What you're owed

Dates and back pay
  • Intent to File
  • Effective dates
  • TDIU and SMC
Chapter 8
And throughout the manual:

✅ Your checklist · 📄 The form it uses · 🗂️ The evidence it needs · ⚠️ The common mistake · 🔗 The official VA page

A veteran at a desk in his garage office going through a folder of VA paperworkOn your own
🧭

File it yourself, step by step

Intent to File, the right form, your evidence uploaded and your claim tracked on VA.gov. You know what you sent and why.

Two veterans talking across a table at a veterans post officeWith a free VSO
🤝

Walk in already squared away

A Veterans Service Officer files for free. You show up with your records sorted and your questions written down, and the hour goes to your claim.

Launch pricing

The Claim Field Manual™

The Claim Field Manual book
$297$27
One-time payment. Instant access.
  • The Claim Field Manual: 9 field chapters, from Intent to File to back pay
  • The 2026 Rate Table: every rating, with spouse and child rates, effective December 1, 2025
  • VA Math, Worked Out: how combined ratings and the bilateral factor really add
  • The Letter Decoder: how to read a decision letter, code sheet and C-file
  • The Free Help Page: VSOs and the official finder for accredited representatives
  • Lifetime Access: on your phone, tablet or computer, ready to print

🎁 4 bonuses, FREE today

$69 value
  • ✓ The Statement Kit · $24
  • ✓ The 30-Day Worst-Days Log · $17
  • ✓ VA Letters, Translated · $14
  • ✓ The State Benefits Checklist · $14
Get the Field Manual →
🔒 Secure checkout · ⚡ Instant access
7-day money-back guarantee seal

Try it for 7 days. Risk-free.

Open the manual, read your decision letter with it and build your checklist. If it isn't for you, send one email within 7 days and we'll refund you in full. No forms, no hard feelings.

After the paperwork

They finally read the letter. Then the messages started.

Same table, same folder, same 6-month wait. The difference was knowing what the VA needed to see.

9:41●●● ᯤ ▮
Mike T. ›
Today 11:06 AM
decision letter came in
and??
they bumped it. the hip went through as secondary
told you to file the hip with the knee. 8 years I been telling you
yeah yeah. first round's on me friday
Delivered
iMessage
9:41●●● ᯤ ▮
Dave (VFW) ›
Saturday 7:12 PM
you ever file for anything?
nah. other guys got it worse
that's what I said for 20 years
sending you the manual I used. read chapter 1 and file the intent to file. 5 min
ok. don't make it a thing
...filed it 👍
Delivered
iMessage
9:41●●● ᯤ ▮
Sharon ❤️ ›
Tuesday 9:48 PM
figured out why they denied the back
you've been staring at that letter for a week
no nexus. nothing tying it to service. it's right there in the reasons
so what now
supplemental claim. new evidence. I know what to get this time
proud of you hon ❤️ come to bed
Delivered
iMessage

Illustrative conversations based on what veterans share online. Individual results depend on service and medical evidence.

After you join

Your First 7 Days, Step by Step

Day 1

Lock your date

Read chapter 1 and file your Intent to File. Five minutes online or by phone, and your effective date is protected while you work on the rest.

Day 2–3

Read what the VA already decided

Pull out your last decision letter and code sheet and go through them with the Letter Decoder. Request your C-file. Write down every condition you have and every one you never claimed.

Day 4–5

Match each condition to its evidence

Increase, secondary or PACT Act. Use the chapter for each one, start the Worst-Days Log, and ask the buddies who were there for a statement.

Day 6–7

File or book your VSO

Submit it yourself on VA.gov, or take your folder to a free Veterans Service Officer. Either way, you know exactly what's in it.

One week, one folder, and a claim you understand from the first page to the last.

Who it's for

This Manual Is for You If

You were rated years agoand never re-checked it
You got a denial letterand don't know why
Your C&P exam is comingand you want to be ready
You served near burn pitsor in Vietnam
You never filed at allbecause others had it worse
A company wants a cutof your back pay

Photos are illustrative.

Look inside

Real Pages, Not Promises

These are real pages from the manual: VA math worked out line by line, the 2026 rate table, and the evidence checklist for a secondary claim. Every number is checked against VA.gov, with the date on the page.

A page showing how combined VA ratings are calculated A page with the 2026 VA compensation rate table A checklist page for a secondary condition claim
What you'll get

The Complete Field Manual

From the first form to the decision letter, and what to do with it.

Main manual

The Claim Field Manual

9 field chapters · 2026 rates · official sources

Intent to File, your letter and C-file, VA math, increases, secondary conditions, the PACT Act, your evidence, effective dates and back pay, TDIU and SMC, and what each rating unlocks. Each chapter ends with a checklist and the official VA page it comes from.

Included

Rate Table + Letter Decoder

2026 rates · VA math · your decision letter

Every 2026 rate, with spouse and child rates, combined ratings worked out step by step, and a page-by-page guide to the letter the VA sent you. You'll see where your rating came from in one sitting.

Bonus 1

The Statement Kit

Personal statement · buddy statement

Outlines for your own statement and for the buddies who were there, with what each one should cover and the VA form it goes on. Your words, organized so the rater can follow them.

Bonus 2

The 30-Day Worst-Days Log

One line a day · flare-ups · what you can't do

A printable log for the days that never make it into a 15-minute exam. Bring it to your doctor and to your C&P, so the bad days are on paper too.

Bonus 3 + 4

VA Letters, Translated + State Benefits Checklist

VA terms A to Z · 50 states

The terms and acronyms you'll see most in VA letters, in one line each, from BVA to TDIU. Plus what your rating can unlock in your state, from property tax to tuition for your kids, with the official page for each state.

Get the Field Manual Now →
One payment, everything included.
Straight from veterans

What veterans say about the claim process

Before they understood the system, in their own words.

✓ IN HIS OWN WORDS

“I waited over 20 years to file fo VA benefits and o ly because I thought I didn't deserved them”

u/triphawk07 · r/Veterans
✓ IN HIS OWN WORDS

“The whole process feels overwhelming, plus a strange sense of shame?”

u/Gerfervonbob · r/Veterans
✓ IN HIS OWN WORDS

“After reading thousands of posts about horrible C&P exams, I can’t get my thoughts together.”

u/-Comrade-L- · r/VeteransBenefits
✓ IN HIS OWN WORDS

“I tend to shut down or forget key symptoms when the doc starts talking to me about it.”

u/Boomer_- · r/VeteransBenefits
✓ IN HIS OWN WORDS

“spent 9 years filing the paperwork over and over only for nothing to happen.”

u/lonewolf13313 · r/Veterans
✓ IN HIS OWN WORDS

“I think its luck of the draw a lot of the times.”

u/Otherwise_Usual9037 · r/VeteransBenefits
✓ IN HIS OWN WORDS

“I had so much anxiety going into this process from reading all the stories about people being screwed over”

u/IrateBeggardd214 · r/VeteransBenefits

Real words from veterans on Reddit, not from buyers of this manual. Usernames as posted. Results vary.

Questions Before You Start

Is this from the VA?

No. The Claim Field Manual is an independent educational guide. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. Every rate and rule in it is taken from VA.gov and the published rating schedule, with the date and the link.

Will you file my claim or review my case?

No. The manual teaches you how the system works and what to prepare. It doesn't file anything, represent you, review your records or promise a rating. Only VA-accredited representatives can help with a specific claim.

Can't I get free help?

Yes, and you should know it. Veterans Service Organizations like the VFW, DAV and American Legion help with claims for free, and VA.gov has an official finder for accredited representatives. The manual lists them. Understanding your own claim means you walk in prepared and you know what's being filed in your name.

Will this raise my rating?

No one can promise that, and you should be careful with anyone who does. Your rating depends on your service and your medical evidence, and the VA decides. What the manual does is show you how ratings are set and what evidence the VA looks for, so nothing is left out because nobody explained it.

I was denied. Is it for me?

Yes. Chapter 2 shows you how to read the reasons in your letter, and the manual covers the three ways to ask for a new decision and the 1-year window that protects your effective date.

I've been out for 20 years. Is it too late?

There's no deadline to file for service connection, and you can ask for an increase at any time if a condition got worse. What you can't get back are the months before you file, which is why chapter 1 starts with the Intent to File.

Does it cover the PACT Act?

Yes. Chapter 6 explains presumptive conditions for burn pits, Agent Orange and other exposures, and where to check the current official list.

Will it tell me what to say at my exam?

It tells you how the exam works and how to prepare: bring your log, describe your worst days honestly and completely, and don't downplay what you live with. It never tells anyone to exaggerate. Accurate is what holds up.

Is the rate table up to date?

Yes. It uses the rates published on VA.gov, effective December 1, 2025, and every page shows the date it was checked and the official link, so you can always confirm the current numbers.

Do I get anything in the mail?

No. It's a digital manual. You get instant access the moment you pay, on your phone, tablet or computer, and you can print any page.

Is this legal advice?

No. It's educational information about how the VA disability system works. For advice on your specific claim, talk to a VA-accredited representative or a free VSO.

I'm not good with paperwork.

That's who it's written for. Plain English, one step per page, and a checklist at the end of every chapter. You can do it at the kitchen table, one chapter a night.

Is it safe to buy online?

Yes. Checkout is secure, access arrives by email the moment you pay, and you're covered for 7 days.

And if it's not for me?

Your purchase is covered for 7 days. Open the manual, read it, and if it isn't for you, send us one email and we'll refund you in full.

$297$27
Get the launch pricing →